


There Be Monsters

by FlameInMyHeart



Category: The X-Files
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-20
Updated: 2015-06-26
Packaged: 2018-01-16 10:06:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 14,382
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1343560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlameInMyHeart/pseuds/FlameInMyHeart
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Mulder gets lost in the wilderness while searching for a mythical creature...Scully must come to his rescue! This is similar to Quagmire set during season 6, with some UST thrown in for good measure...P.S At some point Diana Fowley will come to a sticky end! Yay!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There be Monsters

An X Files Fanfic By FlameInMyHeart.

Spoilers: Anything and everything up to season 6. This story takes place at the beginning of that season somewhere between  
Drive and Dreamland.

**Authors Notes: As far as I'm aware the Bear lake monster is kind of a real folktale and so I have based my story around**   
**this, however it has to be noted that I have never been to Bear Lake, nor have I even been to Utah! As it happens I'm from**   
**England and I have tried my best to imagine what it might be like out there- so if some of the facts about the area don't**   
**ring true- don't shoot me! I must plead ignorance!**   
**I am a massive fan of the show and have been for many years. This is my first Fanfiction story, but I hope my portrayal of these characters does them justice.**

 

 

It was 8am on a cold and bleak December morning when Dana Scully pulled her car into the FBI Headquarters parking lot. She  
felt extra tired after driving home from her mom’s house the following evening in a blistering snow storm. She’d spent the  
weekend up there to celebrate her brother Charlie’s birthday, and while she'd enjoyed spending time with her family, the  
strain of driving in the horrendous weather had left her feeling drained.

She walked down the hallway towards the open plan office she now shared with other agents as well as her partner, doing  
routine background checks for the terrorist division. She wasn’t late; in fact she had arrived early to avoid the morning  
rush in the harsh weather, but when she got to her desk she realized Mulder wasn't at his own computer as he usually was.  
It was a strange thing for Mulder not to be there before her, but she suspected that this was probably due to his lack of  
enthusiasm for their current assignment under A.D Kirsch.  
Later that morning, Scully glanced up at the clock in the office- 9.35am and still no sign of Mulder. She plucked her cell  
phone from the inside pocket of her suit jacket and dialled Mulder's cell phone. After about a dozen rings, the call went  
to voicemail, so she left a message for Mulder asking him to give her a call as soon as possible. Where could he be?  
thought Scully...it wasn’t like him not to inform her if he was going to be off sick.  
At the end of the day, Scully decided to drop by Mulder’s apartment and check if he was OK. Maybe he was too sick to get  
to the phone she thought, as a sudden rush of panic swept through her. Upon her arrival at his place and after using her  
key to get in, it was clear to her that he hadn't been home in some time, maybe even a few days. Mulder’s apartment was  
CLEAN! No left over take away boxes on the table, the bed was neatly made, and there were no books and tapes strewn about  
his living room as normal. The fish tank in the corner cast a soft blue green glow about the room as the light began to  
fade outside, so Scully flicked the desk lamp on. In doing so she noticed a note on the desk with her name on it.

Scully  
I’ve gone away for a few days, maybe even a few weeks as something important has come up that I just can’t ignore.  
Let’s just say “there be monsters” Scully, and at this point I really can't say anything more. Don’t worry about me; I’ve  
taken the time off as leave so that should keep Kirsch off both our backs for the time being.  
I’ll be in touch  
Mulder (P.S Please feed my fish-Thanks)

Scully began to get that familiar sinking feeling in her stomach when she knew Mulder was going to get himself into some  
sort of trouble. What was so important that he couldn't even spare the time for a phone call to let her know what was  
happening and for that matter, where the hell he was going to be for so long!  
Back at her own apartment she sat down to the meal she had just prepared for herself and was just about to open a bottle  
of red, when a knock came to her door. She jumped up and more or less ran to the door half expecting to see Mulder  
standing before her with a sheepish grin on his face...but when she looked through the spy hole she saw Jeffrey Spender’s  
weasel like face staring back at her. “What the hell does that little runt want?” she thought removing the security chain  
and unlocking the door....  
”Spender wha....” she was cut off mid sentence as Spender pushed his way into her apartment.  
“Agent Scully do you know the whereabouts of your partner” he turned to face her with his hands on his hips.  
“Just what business is it of yours where Mulder is? How dare you push your way in here!” She said in a low growl, making  
it clear to Spender that she was clearly unimpressed, and getting angrier by the second. Just the sight of his snivelling  
face put her in a foul mood at the best of times.  
“Agent Scully I am acting on information I have received to suggest that Agent Mulder has gone on a wild goose chase with  
my partner..something to do with an X File!” Spender saw the emotion on Scully's face quickly turn from anger to shock in  
a split second  
“Your partner, you mean Agent Fowley?”  
“Well who else could I be referring to Scully, my partner on the X Files..Diana Fowley. Mulder’s ex as I understand”

He left the statement hanging in the air as Scully tried to process what he was saying to her..Mulder had ditched her..to  
go looking for monsters... to god knows where..with Diana Fowley.  
“You must be mistaken Agent Spender, now would you please leave..”  
“No way Agent, not until you tell me where Mulder is, or I will personally ensure A.D Kirsch knows about this new little  
stunt of his!”  
Scully hesitated beginning to realise that this situation could turn ugly very quickly, if Spender told Kirsch that Mulder  
was on an X File, deliberately betraying orders , then he might end up suspended or worse, he’d break up there partnership  
for good.

“You said you were acting on information, where did you hear that Mulder was missing” She could see Spender weighing up in  
his mind if Scully was now cooperating with him, or whether she was going to start lying to him to protect Mulder.  
“Let’s just say it comes from higher up the ladder than A.D Kirsch”  
“Oh I see, so you’re not just Kirsch’s whipping boy...” Scully said with a sneer.  
“Agent Scully, this is my reputation on the line too, I need to know where Mulder and Agent Fowley are!”  
“Look Spender, I am in the dark just as much as you are; now I suggest that you get the hell out of my apartment, before I  
pop a bullet in your scrawny ass!” Spender’s face turned a violent shade of red before turning toward the door..  
”This isn’t over Agent Scully, you get Mulder back her in 48 hours or I’m gonna be singing like a canary to Kirsch!”

Scully banged her fist hard on the huge metal door to the Lone Gunmen’s apartment. It was 11pm and she desperately wanted  
to find out the truth as to where Mulder was, ignoring the little niggling feeling at the back of her mind that Mulder  
didn’t want to be found, and that being with Diana and not her, was what he really wanted. Frohike finally finished  
unlocking the many deadbolts and chains on the door and opened it to find a shivering Scully stood on the porch. Shivering  
with the cold, or with anger, Frohike couldn’t decide as she steamed past him into the room.  
“Well good evening Agent Scully, have you finally succumbed to...” he was going to make some crack about his potent sexual  
magnetism when Scully cut him off in his tracks  
“Frohike have you any idea where Mulder is?”  
“Mulder..no. What’s wrong Scully, has Mulder gone missing?” Scully looking him straight in the eye, finally deciding that  
this wasn’t an act and that he too had no idea where Mulder was.

“Frohike, I’m worried... I found a note in Mulder's apartment saying he was leaving, to look for some sort of monster I  
think...” and then after a brief pause “then I had Jeffrey Spender threatening to tell Kirsch all about it, if I didn’t  
tell him where he and Agent Fowley were”  
“Wait a minute, do you mean Diana Fowley and Mulder have eloped on a monster hunting love fest?” said Frohike raising his  
eyebrows at the thought.  
“No Frohike, I didn’t say eloped, or love fest for that matter....I think they may have gone after an X File.”

Frohike was struck dumb, when suddenly a voice popped up from the back of the room. It was Byers, dressed in a pair of  
Superman pyjamas and a long red dressing gown.  
“They’re in Utah” Scully stared at him for a second, before answering him with a puzzled look  
“Utah?”  
“Yes, err... he was going after the Bear Lake Monster...acting on a tip off from Diana Fowley”  
“Bear Lake Monster, what the hell are you talking about?” said Scully walking up to him as he stood with his toothbrush in  
hand obviously getting ready for bed.

“The Bear Lake Monster is kind of a famous folk tale, or local legend up in those parts. It’s a 90 foot long snake with  
little legs that kind of scurry along on land, but in the water, is as fast as a bullet train and is a lethal killing  
machine. Some say it has eaten fishermen right out of their boats and...”  
Scully held up her hand to shut him up “90 foot long...scurrying on land...why would Mulder pack up and leave over a  
goddamn mythical snake?” Scully pondered this statement for a second, coming to the conclusion...hell Mulder would sell  
his own grandmother for a sighting of a 90ft long mythical snake...it was an X File and that was all that mattered to him.

Byers continued “Mulder told me that Diana had come to his apartment last week with information that had turned up in her  
office regarding some missing people. Five people in total, and the common denominator is that they all live in the area  
surrounding Bear Lake. Then a body turned up on the shore with both legs missing....and you get the idea”

“But why did Diana tell Mulder about this, surely it was for her and Spender to investigate?” Scully asked Byers who just  
shrugged his shoulders in return.  
“I don’t know maybe it was the old carrot and stick approach, dangling the case in front of Mulder's nose. Maybe she  
thinks that one way to get to him is though the X Files, it is his life’s work after all”

Scully took a step away from Byers and as she spoke tried not to let the hurt she was feeling come across in her voice  
“Get to Mulder, you mean in a romantic sense... or to try and get him back on the X Files?”  
“I don’t know Scully maybe both” answered Frohike coming up beside her and Byers. “She was Mulder's chick-a-dee for a long  
time you know...” he gave her an almost apologetic smile as Scully's eyes quickly darted between the two of them.

“What was your involvement in all this Byers, why did Mulder tell you all about the case?”

“Well, to be honest he wanted to borrow some of my equipment, cameras, night vision goggles, satellite navigation...”

“Hang on a just minute dickwad!” yelled Frohike as he bounced up to Byers “those were MY night vision goggles, you told  
me you lost them on that recognisance mission to Area 51 a month ago!” and slapped Byers round the back of the head

Scully stepped between the two of them “Boys, cool down this isn’t helping the situation! Have you any way of contacting  
Mulder?” “I’ve called a dozen times but his cell phone is just going straight to voicemail.”

Byers shook his head slowly “sorry Scully, he told me he would be unreachable for the duration...he really is intent on  
finding this snake.”  
‘Goddamn it!’ thought Scully as she turned to leave the apartment. “I’ve gotta go, there’s nothing more I can do on this.  
Mulder obviously doesn’t want or need me to go chasing after him...if Spender tells Kirsch then that’s his lookout.”

As Scully left, the two Gunmen turned to look at each other “Do you really think Scully will give up on him?” Byers asked  
Frohike  
“who knows, but I think Mulder has defiantly crossed the line with this one....”

 

At two in the morning Scully tossed and turned in bed, her mind going crazy with thoughts of Mulder and Diana Fowley  
together in Utah. What were they doing right now? She tried to push these thoughts and the unmistakable pang of jealously  
she felt to the back of her mind. Just then Scully's cell phone rang on her bedside table; she quickly snatched it up and  
put it to her ear “Scully...” she said. “Scully...#crackle# its Mulder.....I need your help...please” and the line went  
dead...  
“MULDER!” she shouted down the phone and jumped out of bed at the same time pressing all the buttons to call Mulder  
back...but there was no dial tone. Scully’s mind raced with all the possible scenarios behind Mulder’s plea for help, but  
all she knew was that he was in danger and she had no idea what could have happened, or where he was. Where was Diana  
Fowley for that matter? Had something happened to her too? It was no good...she had to get to Bear Lake, Utah and find  
Mulder.

 

It was almost 10 hours later when Scully finally touched down in Salt Lake City; she hired a car and set off for the  
nearest town to Bear Lake, called Garden City. She had no idea if Mulder had even been there, but it was the best place  
she could think of to start looking. Maybe someone had seen Mulder and Diana before they set off on their quest for the  
Bear Lake Monster...  
Scully rang the bell in the lobby of the Pavilion Hotel in Garden City. She had been stood in reception for 5 minutes and  
was becoming more and more inpatient as the seconds ticked by...”Come on, come on...” she chanted under her breath.  
Finally an elderly and frail looking woman came out from the room at the back of the reception area. “Oh I’m sorry dear, I  
hope you haven’t been waiting long?”  
“Err well no its ok, I’m not wanting a room actually I’m just wondering if you could help me. I’m Special Agent Dana  
Scully from the FBI, and I’m looking for this man” she held up a picture of Mulder that had been taken only a couple of  
months ago at Frohike’s birthday party. He had been dressed in casual clothes, a pair of jeans and a grey t-shirt and was  
standing with his arm around Frohike's shoulders with a beer in the other hand, smiling straight at the camera. Scully  
pointed to Mulder on the picture as she handed it to the old lady.  
“He’s Special Agent Fox Mulder and was travelling with a female agent, Diana Fowley...”  
“Oh my, he’s a handsome young man isn’t he...come to think of it, he does look familiar” said the lady as she adjusted the  
glasses that were hanging on the end of her nose, as she brought the picture up close to her face  
“Yes that’s right, I think he and his lady friend came here to book a room a couple of days ago. It was my daughter who  
spoke to them, but I was sitting in the room behind reception and I saw them come in and heard them talking. The gentleman  
wanted to stay for a couple of nights but my daughter had to turn them away...we are fully booked you see, we only have 4  
rooms in the whole hotel”  
“Did your daughter advise them to try another hotel in the area?” asked Scully relieved that she was at least making some  
headway with the woman  
“No, I remember the man said that it was OK and they would just have to camp out under the stars” “I remembered that,  
because I was thinking how cold it would be to go camping at this time of year”.  
Scully’s mind flashed with images of Mulder and Diana sharing a tent, snuggled up in a sleeping bag, together. She took a  
step back away from the counter, and began to think about what her next move should be.  
“Err m’am is there a store around here that would maybe sell outdoor equipment, tents and such like?”  
“Why yes there is dear, there’s a store called Henderson’s Hiking on main street...I’m sure they will be able to help  
you.”  
“Thank you for your help, could you maybe point me in that direction...”

 

Thirty minutes later, Scully emerged from Henderson’s Hiking carrying a large rucksack on her back. She had nearly cleaned  
out the store buying all the equipment she might need on her quest to find Mulder. A small collapsible tent was rolled  
inside the bag and she had also bought a sleeping bag and cooking equipment. She had shown the store assistant the picture  
of Mulder and if he could remember selling him anything recently, but he'd drawn a blank. The reality of the situation was  
beginning to sink in for Scully...she had jumped on the first plane racing to get to him, when the fact of the matter was  
that she hadn’t the first clue where to even start looking for him. She was unfamiliar with the area and every time she  
tried to call him, the line was just dead. She tried to shake then dread that was slowing creeping upon her, and she knew  
she wouldn’t be free of this feeling until she knew that Mulder was safe.

The lake itself set low in a valley surrounded by mountains and steep hills covered in dense woodland. The rocky and harsh  
terrain was not the only thing that worried Scully, it was the weather too. There was a cold biting wind that sent a chill  
to her very core, and the snow and ice that covered the ground made her worry about whether Mulder was adequately equipped  
to deal with the freezing temperatures. Whatever had possessed him to go looking for a monster in the middle of winter  
anyway? With renewed vigour, Scully tucked her woollen scarf under her chin and zipped up her fleece jacket as she  
prepared to set off for the hiking trail on Bear Lake.

She had decided the best plan of action would be to follow the paths closest to the shoreline of the lake. Surely Mulder  
would want to be near the water if he had wanted to catch a glimpse of this huge snake creature thing that Byers had told  
her about.  
But after nearly 3 hours of walking she had not seen a soul. She set down her rucksack and pulled out her water bottle,  
she was just taking a mouth full of water when she felt a humming vibration in her jacket pocket...her phone was  
ringing....  
She grabbed for the phone, sending out a silent prayer that Mulder was on the end of the line. “Hello!” she yelled trying  
to make out the voice that was breaking through the torrent of static. “SCULLY! Its Muld....battery is  
dying.....please...Bear lake” Scully felt the panic again begin to sweep over, with a tingling fear that started at her  
feet and was rising rapidly thorough her body  
“Mulder, can you hear me?” “I’m at Bear Lake, where are you?” She was answered by a rush of buzzing and static  
“MULDER!”...  
No answer then “SCUL....SOUTHERN RIM....PIKES PEAK!” Then the line went completely silent. Scully jammed the phone back  
into her pocket and grabbed her map from the ground where she had laid it down a moment ago. Pike’s Peak....Southern Rim??  
Then she spotted it, on the map there was a series of hills surrounded by forest roughly 3 miles from the southern side of  
the lake, and one of these hills was named Pike’s Peak.  
“Oh thank God” she thought to herself as she gathered up her rucksack and set off. It was going to take hours to reach him  
from her current position, but at least she had something to go on. At least she knew he was alive...for now.

 

Sometime later, Scully looked at her watch. The light was fading fast, and the temperature was dropping rapidly. She  
knew realistically that she would have to stop soon, but her heart was telling her to keep going even if it meant  
stumbling through the dark. She clicked on her torch light to the small compass she had been holding in her hand for  
hours. She was still heading south, but as the light diminished she was beginning to lose her bearings. The trail she was  
on had now left the lake and she was heading on a steady incline towards a more densely wooded area she could see in the  
distance.  
The wind whipped up suddenly around her ears sending the hood of her jacket flying off her head. She regretted not buying  
a hat at the hiking store as light flakes of snow began to fall, landing softly on her hair. Her legs were tired now, and  
the rucksack on her back felt heavier than when she had started on the trail.  
It was now completely dark as she entered the forest. Thick pine and spruce trees loomed like giants all around her,  
blocking out any light from the moon. Her mind began to wander as she listened to the sounds of the night, the wind  
howling, the rustling of the leaves and an owl screeching that sounded too much like a scream. Any thought of bears and  
mountain lions that hadn’t even entered her mind when she had been walking during the day, now prevailed as she imagined  
them to be stalking her silently, following her through the trees wanting to make her their prey.  
She checked her watch again, it was 2.30am. Any thoughts of stopping for a rest were pushed aside as she replayed the  
words that Mulder had said to her on the phone only a few hours ago. Scully...battery dying...please... she tried to pick  
up the pace.  
Abruptly she became aware of how much steeper the incline had become and the ground more uneven and rocky. Through the  
trees she could now see what looked like a hillside or cliff face ahead.

Suddenly Scully lost her footing and tripped over a loose rock. She fell to the floor as the weariness took over, her legs  
feeling like lead. Scully rolled onto her side trying to pick herself back up, when she caught sight of something lying on  
the ground just two feet away from where she now lay. She got up onto her knees and crawled towards it. She clicked on  
her torch and pointed the beam at the object, it was a dark blue sleeveless jacket with a red collar...it couldn’t be...  
Mulder had one exactly like this! Scully’s heart began to race in her chest as she grabbed the jacket and shouted at the  
top of her lungs “MULDER! MULDER!”

A bird flew noisily from a tree behind her as she spun around almost frantic with worry “MULDER WHERE ARE YOU!” Her voice  
cracking, and breathing hard she cried again “MULDER!”  
Just then she heard it. Somewhere in the distance a voice travelled back to her. It was so quite at first she thought she  
had imagined it “Scully!”  
She turned back to her right and broke into a run heading towards the cliff face ahead, and then there it was again but  
even clearer “SCULLY!”  
“MULDER! MULDER!” She whirled around on the spot straining to hear for another response to her calls, but all was quiet  
again. Scully was about to call out again, but then she heard his voice somewhere over to her left  
“Scully...SCULLY!” She sprang forward, running and holding her torch in front of her, careful to avoid the large stones  
and boulders that were lying at the bottom of the cliff. “MULDER WHERE ARE YOU?” She then noticed how high the path she  
was running on had gotten, and to her left there was now a steep rocky slope from the path down into the forest below.  
“SCULLY!” His voice sounded even closer now, he had to be nearby.  
She stopped and shone the torch all around her...nothing. It was just so dark; she could barely see the hand in front of  
her face. “MULDER!”...She tried again. For a split second she thought about breaking into another run, when all of a  
sudden she heard him,  
“SCULLY I’M HERE!” She swung the torch beam downwards and over the edge of the path, and there he was. Mulder was lying on  
his side about six or seven feet down the slope, resting on a rocky out crop. He had what looked like a ground sheet or  
tarpaulin wrapped around his body, but his hair was wet and was clinging to his head, and even in the dim torchlight it  
looked to Scully that his lips were tinged with blue. “Oh my God, Mulder,” Scully said as she immediately got down on her  
knees attempting to get to him.

“Scully, I think my ankle is broken. The ground is too slippery, you won’t be able to get to me” he said through  
chattering teeth. The relief she had felt upon finding her partner, suddenly drained away from her. Mulder was injured and  
possibly suffering from exposure or the start of hypothermia, and they were miles away from any kind of medical  
assistance.  
“Mulder, we have to get you out of here, just hold on”. Scully dropped her rucksack and began to root around in it,  
pulling things out to reach the bottom. “Ah ha, the rope I knew this would come in handy” she said aloud as she pulled a  
length of coiled rope that she had purchased from the store back at Garden City. She jumped back to her feet and spun  
around looking for a suitable tree in which to tie it to. In front of her there was a huge spruce with a sturdy looking  
trunk. Scully ran over to it and began to loop the rope around the trunk, and then tied and secured it into a knot. She  
then ran back over to the ledge.

“Mulder if I throw this rope down to you, can you pull yourself up?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll try,” he answered as the rope was then thrown down to him. He grabbed it and with shaking hands  
attempted to get a good grip.  
With huge effort he slowly began to lift himself and edge his way up towards Scully.  
“Arrggh Jesus, my ankle!” he cried in pain as his left leg was dragged weakly against the side of the slope hitting some  
of the small jagged rocks along the way.

“Just a bit further Mulder” encouraged Scully as Mulder heaved his way towards her. Finally he was within arm’s reach, so  
she leant over and held out her hand to him.  
“Mulder, grab my hand I’ll help you.”

Mulder looked up, and leaving one hand on the rope he made a grab for Scully. She felt his freezing cold hand wrap around  
her own and with all the strength she could muster, pulled backwards. Mulder made the most of this boost and managed to  
get enough leverage to pull his right knee up onto the ledge. He pulled himself up and over onto the path.

He let go of Scully’s hand and rolled onto his back, beads of sweat were tricking down from his forehead and down onto his  
cheeks. Scully leant down and touched his face; he was freezing cold and looked exhausted.  
“Mulder how did this happen?”

“It’s a long story, but let me tell you it’s not just the bears, wolves and mountain lions wanting to chow down on some  
man flesh around here...” He said with a pained expression on his face.  
Scully bent down again to inspect his injuries, thinking to herself that maybe he had also taken a hefty blow to the  
head...there was no way in hell that snake was real. She began to undo the laces of his walking boot ready to assess the  
possible break to his ankle.  
"Arrrggghh Scully not so rough..!" He winced as she tried removing his boot.

"Sorry Mulder but I need to check if it is a fracture"  
As gently as possible, she slipped the boot off and began to roll the sock over his foot. Instantly she saw how swollen  
and puffy it was, and she noted with a grimace the dark purple bruising all the way down to his toes.

"To be honest Mulder it doesn't look good, this amount of swelling alone indicates to me that its most probably fractured,  
but I can't say for sure without an X ray"  
She stood up and began to rummage in her rucksack again looking for a tubular bandage from the little first aid kit she'd  
also bought at the store. At last she found one and went back to Mulder and began rolling this over his ankle, also  
replacing his sock and boot.  
As Mulder watched her, a slight smile began to tug at the corners of his lips. “Scully, I can’t believe you came...I  
didn’t think...”  
Scully cut him off and stood up abruptly with her hands on her hips “No you didn’t think Mulder! What the hell were you  
doing coming out here in this weather and looking for what? A goddamn snake with legs?”

Mulder pulled himself up into a sitting position and turned towards her, “Scully, that’s what I have been trying to tell  
you.. the goddamn snake with legs, it’s real. I saw it and it attacked me.”

“Wha..?” was the only sound to come out of her mouth as she struggled to get her head around what he was saying, but then  
her incredulous look was replaced by one of sudden realisation. Mulder was alone.

“Where’s Agent Fowley? Jeffrey Spender said you came out here with her.”

Mulder looked at her face and stared into her eyes. He saw the anger and disbelief, and then for a brief second saw a  
flicker of something else...hurt?  
“Scully, I’m so sorry. Let’s just say that I quickly came to the realisation that the Bear Lake monster wasn’t the only  
giant snake in the grass around here. Diana isn’t my ally anymore, she’s isn’t interested in the X Files, not really.  
She’s only after one thing...”

He stopped to look at Scully, but she had turned her face away from him. He was trying to think about what to say next,  
but she was now searching through her coat pockets.  
“Mulder, is your cell phone still working? I thought that if I could just get to you and bring you back to Washington then  
everything would work out OK, but you’re injured and there’s no way I can get you back to Garden City like this. We have  
to get help”  
Mulder sat up and reached for the phone in his pocket and tried it. It wasn’t working.  
“No the batteries dead Scully” he looked at her again as she was pulling out her own phone  
“Scully, what do you mean, if you could just get me back to D.C everything would be OK?”

Scully stopped what she was doing and turned again to face him again. “Mulder how do you think I found out about this in  
the first place? Spender came to my apartment and told me that you and Diana Fowley had disappeared. Something to do with  
an X File. He then threatened to tell Kirsch unless I found you and Fowley and brought you back.” “But I have to try and  
get help, even if it means that Kirsch finds out. What other option do I have?”

Mulder bit down on his lower lip and stole another glance at her, she looked so upset. God what an asshole, he’d been. He  
knew what she was saying to him. If Kirsch finds out about this now, it might mean the end for their partnership.  
Scully hit the power button on her cell and to her relief, the screen lit up. She dialled 911, and lifted the phone to her  
ear but there was nothing, there was no signal.  
“It’s no use Mulder there’s no signal out here. What are we going to do?”

"Scully, look...I think the only thing we can do is wait till the sun comes up, there's no way I can go anywhere right now  
it’s too dark. Maybe we can set off at first light, we might stumble upon some hikers on the trail."  
She was reluctant to agree with him...after all it was freezing cold, wet and Mulder's ankle must be absolute agony, but  
she knew he was right.

With a sigh she put her phone back into her pocket and once again knelt by Mulder’s side.  
"I've got a small pop up tent and a sleeping bag. If we can get down from this slope on to flatter ground, I'll put the  
tent up there." Mulder didn't argue instead he struggled to get onto his feet. Scully flung the rucksack back over her  
shoulders and quickly stepped close to him, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulder too.  
"Lean on Me Mulder, don't try to put any weight on that injured ankle..."

 

Ten minutes later they had made it down from the steepest part of the ridge and were heading back down the trail towards  
the lake. Scully stole a glance at Mulder, he looked pale and tired with obvious pain etched all over his face.  
"I think this is far enough Mulder, let’s stop here." Scully helped him to sit down on a fallen tree stump that was lying  
at the side of the path. It was damp and had a fresh covering of snow, much like the rest of the ground not shaded by the  
big trees. She took out the tent and looked for a suitable spot to pitch it...

The soft snow flurries swirled and began to settle on the little red tent, as its walls billowed and swayed in the  
freezing cold wind. Scully's silver torch illuminated the inside of the tent where Mulder and Scully were huddled together,  
with the sleeping bag wrapped around both of their bodies. Scully was silently cursing herself for not buying a ground  
sheet in that store, or for that matter grabbing the tarpaulin Mulder had been clutching on that slope. Jagged little  
rocks were sticking in their sides and the ground was so hard and cold that it was practically unbearable. Scully glanced  
at Mulder who had his eyes closed, but his teeth were chattering and she could feel him shivering violently.

She reached up and tenderly brushed a wet strand of hair away from his forehead, noting that he still felt freezing to the  
touch. His eyes snapped open and they stared at one another for a long time, Mulder noticed with some relief that the  
anger seemed to be gone from Scully's own stare as she appeared to be studying him intently.

"wha What..is..it Scully" he shivered "Is being so close to my manly man musk turning you on?" He said this with a weak  
grin on his face, but he knew it was a lame attempt at humour

"Yeah Mulder, I can barely contain myself.." she retorted with a straight face, but he felt her move closer to him as she  
took one of his bare hands in one of her own gloved ones.  
She began to idly rub his fingers and once again looked up at his face "Seriously though, I was thinking about all the  
times we've ended up like this.."  
"Like what Scully, being stranded in the middle of no where...me ditching you, or you once again saving my sorry ass.."

A little laugh escaped her throat as she answered honestly "Yeah, maybe..." She let go of his fingers and moved back  
slightly so she could see him clearly "Mulder, I may come to regret asking this.. but what happened out here? What  
attacked you?"

Mulder was silent for a second as he contemplated her question, he had been going over and over that same question in his  
own mind for what seemed like days now...What did he really see? Was it the Bear Lake Monster, or did he just want it to  
be that badly, the truth didn't really matter anymore?

He looked at Scully who had her eyebrows raised and had an expectant look on her face, and once again he was struck with  
strong feelings of guilt and shame, "Monster Boy Strikes again" he thought fleetingly as he prepared to tell his story...

"Well of course you know by now that me and Diana had been up here trying to track that snake. We had been looking around  
the shore line of the lake and came across some markings in the dirt and reeds that suggested something big had slid out  
of the water and had somehow made its way up into the forest" He glanced at Scully who nodded her head, indicating for  
him to go on.  
"So we tracked it for a while, and noticed that this thing, whatever it was..had made its way up here onto higher ground.  
We made it to the cliffs and that’s where the trail ended. There were no markings in the snow and the ground wasn't  
disturbed, it looked to me like it had just disappeared."  
"So anyway, it started snowing even harder and Diana suggested we made camp for the night, so I put up the tent under the  
cliffs.."

 

 

End of Part one.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Notes: Thank you for the reviews I’ve had so far, it gave me the confidence to continue with the story after I had a touch of writers block. Anyway I hope you will enjoy this next instalment.**

**Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me (I wish!) I am just borrowing them for a while.**

 

He paused and looked at Scully thinking to himself ...“here comes the tricky part” but continued to tell her anyway, she deserved to hear the truth even if it wasn’t very pretty.

“Well we kinda got settled for the night...separate sleeping bags of course!” “Of course....” said Scully, who was flinching inwardly at the thought of their sleeping arrangements but continued to portray a totally blank exterior.

“And well, basically...Diana made a pass at me. She was talking about how she didn’t trust Spender with the X Files; with my work- so she said wouldn’t it be better if we were partners again?”

He cringed as he went on to say “partners in every sense of the word...”

He heard Scully let out a small ‘huff’ sound, as she visibly recoiled- shocked by his last statement. She had moved further away from him and he could plainly see the betrayal and hurt written all over her face. “Scully, you know that’s not what I want... ” He said as his voice lowered almost to a whisper.

“She’s not what I want. ” He reached out a shaky hand and laid it on top of hers “Not anymore.” Once again they continued to stare at one another silently and Scully then felt the atmosphere change between them suddenly. Mulder was looking at her so intensely with a look in his eyes that she’d never seen before, and for whatever reason it made her feel nervous.

She slipped her hand out from under his, with the pretence of tucking her hair behind her ears and spoke with slight hesitation in her voice. “Mulder....its fine. I’m fine, that’s none of my business. What I’m interested in, is how you ended up halfway down a cliff with a broken ankle?” Nice dodge Scully, thought Mulder as he noticed how quickly she’d regained her composure. The enigmatic Dr Scully is back in the building....

“To cut a long story short, I set her straight on a few things. Probably things that she didn’t want to hear so she upped and left. Grabbed her sleeping bag and rucksack and before I could talk her out of it..She had stormed off into the night.”

“I tried to follow her but lost her on one of the trails. I have no idea what happened to her.”

Scully mulled this information over in her mind for a while. What exactly had Mulder said to her? It was obviously unpleasant, seen as how it resulted in her taking off into the woods alone. She was probably lost too, maybe even laying injured somewhere. At this last thought a little voice popped up into the back of her mind “Good, she deserves it the bitch!” But as quickly as the thought had occurred to her, she then chastised herself for even thinking such a thing.

“So what happened after that?”

“Well I somehow made it back to the tent, and began to pack up my things. And that’s when I heard it.” He said looking up at Scully who had adopted a wide eyed expression with both eyebrows raised in anticipation. “Heard what?” she answered quickly.

“The sound of something big moving or should I say, slithering across the ground..and hissing”

“Shut up Mulder, you did not hear hissing!” cried Scully who had by now moved into a kneeling position and was leaning forward as if she was hanging on his every word.

“That’s what I heard Scully” he said with a slight smirk on his face. “Something was making its way closer to my tent, something LARGE. So I grabbed my gun and went out to face it”

“It wasn’t the Bear....” she was cut short by Mulder who had jumped in to finish her sentence “Lake Monster? Yeah I think it was Scully.” She was looking at him with that doubt filled expression he had come to know and love so well.

’She thinks I’m crazy’ he thought fleetingly. “Look Scully, whatever it was hit me so damn hard I felt like I’d been knocked over by a freight train. It had the strength and power to drag me over to the cliffs. There I think it might have been disturbed or distracted as the next thing I know, I wake up hanging halfway off a cliff edge with my ankle busted...and then there was this ”

he stopped and appeared be digging in the front pocket of his jeans. Scully leant closer as he held something out to her in the palm of his hand. It was a tooth. A very large tooth. She took it and examined it closely before handing it back to him saying “Mulder it could have been an alligator. We both know what they are capable of..Does Big Blue ring any bells at all?” before adding “I mean, did you even get a good look at it?”

“Scully, an alligator couldn’t drag a fully grown man 60 feet up a slope! What would it even be doing so far away from the lake?” His voice had taken on an exasperated tone, and she knew there would be no reasoning with him, but she tried anyway.

“It’s just...I find it hard to believe that something so big would be living out here- an area so popular with hikers and tourists, and it has never been seen up close. I bet there are no photographs of it? No legitimate ones at least..”

Mulder just shook his head at her in response “You know that thing could come back for seconds at anytime, and trust me a few bullets won’t stop it..”

 

Meanwhile 4 miles west of where Scully and Mulder had set up camp...Special Agent Diana Fowley was making her way across a low valley that separated two large areas of Woodland.

As dawn approached, she knew that she’d been walking for hours and although she didn’t want to admit it to herself...she was now hopelessly lost. Her whole body ached from relentlessly ploughing through the deep snow, while carrying the heavy rucksack on her back. Her wet hair was plastered to the sides of her face, pale with weariness and worry. However hard she tried, strong feelings of panic were threatening to overcome her.

“Why the hell did I run from Mulder?” She kept saying to herself. Although in her heart she knew why. His angry words came rushing back to her, as she wiped away the tears that now spilled over her frozen cheeks.

_“What? You don’t seriously think I would ditch Scully...everything we’ve worked towards for 6 years, for you?”_

_“Let me tell you something Diana...it’s not the work, it’s not my quest -whatever the hell that is these days...that’s important to me... that I care about.” “It’s her...it’s always been her, not you. You mean NOTHING to me..Absolutely nothing.”_

 

As she continued along the valley, she was unaware of the creature that had been slowly and quietly stalking her for hours. Waiting for the perfect time to attack, its massive body was now hidden by the dark line of trees barely 300 yards behind her.

Muscles tensed and eyes became focused as it began its assault, with frightening speed it flew out of the tree line and out onto the open field towards Diana....

Her mind was still reeling as she thought about what he’d said to her. How could he be so cruel? The Fox Mulder she knew would never speak like that.

It’s got to be her- that stupid red haired bitch Scully twisting his mind, poisoning his thoughts against her. If only she’d stayed with him all those years ago, who knows where they’d be by now?

She stopped and took off one of her gloves as she attempted to remove something from her eye, a piece of grit maybe blown along in the harsh winds, when suddenly she felt something strange. A vibration in the ground so slight she had barely noticed it at first, but was now becoming stronger. And then a kind of whooshing noise, getting louder and louder. “What the hell it that?”

She said out loud suddenly dropping her glove onto the snowy ground. As she bent down to pick it up, she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye. Spinning round, she barely had time to utter a cry as the creature leapt up from the ground in front of her. She had less than a second to register what was happening, before it was upon her. With the lithe and agile body of a snake it moved with ferocious speed, grabbing Diana and throwing her into the air as if she were a rag doll. Its massive head was that of an alligator, with a long snout and powerful jaws lined with razor sharp teeth, no human would stand a chance against this enormous creature. It was a violent and frenzied attack...and with her body broken, she weakly lifted her head from the frozen ground.

She saw blood all around her, and it was to her horror that she realised the creature had torn off one of her legs and was now proceeding to eat it less than 6 feet away from her. Her head began to spin, as she realised this would be her last few seconds on earth and wondered hopelessly how it had come to this...

Time stood still as her head sank to the ground once more, with her cheek pressed against the frozen earth there was suddenly no pain. The edges of her vision began to fade, as she turned her face up towards the stormy sky, just in time to see the creature lean over her and open its gigantic jaws.

The Bear Lake Monster ate Diana Fowley and then continued on its way back into the woods, a thought registering somewhere in its primitive brain, that it hadn’t had a meal as good as that in ages.

 

End of Chapter 2.  Stay tuned for more soon...

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: The characters don’t belong to me (Again....I wish!) I am just borrowing them for a while.**

 

As dawn approached, a cool grey light began to filter through the clouds and into the little tent that sheltered Mulder and Scully from the snow storm that was still raging outside. Scully had shut off her flashlight in order to preserve the batteries and had then fallen asleep huddled up against Mulder, who still continued to lie awake.  His injured ankle was raised up and rested on Scully’s backpack, but the dull throbbing pain that was now radiating up his leg was quickly becoming unbearable, and lying on the cold hard ground wasn’t helping by any means.

Trying to take deep calming breaths, he looked down at Scully who was sleeping on her side with her head buried into the crook of his arm. At some point he had draped his arm around her, and was now hugging her slight frame against his own, trying in vain to feel some sort of warmth. It still astounded him how easily she seemed to fall asleep, whatever situation they were in.  She looked so peaceful with the sleeping bag pulled up under her chin, and he observed how the dark colour of the material was a stark contrast to the fine porcelain of her skin.  He rarely got the chance to study her up close, so he took the opportunity to do so without fear of being on the receiving end of one of her withering looks..... And subsequently feeling like a staring pervert.

 It was then he realised she must be dreaming, as he noticed her pursed lips and the slight crease in her brow as if she was puzzling over something.  He smiled fondly at her... yep that was Scully, lost in the middle of a snow storm, with a monster on the rampage...and she still sleeps like a baby.  

What he would have done if she hadn’t come to his rescue didn’t bear thinking about.  He had been such a fool taking off with Diana...once again letting the lure for monsters in whatever shape or form they may be, take over him.  Even to the point it seemed, of deserting the one person in this world whom he relied and trusted upon the most, his amazingly loyal Scully.

“How the hell does she put up with me?” he muttered to himself as he brushed a finger against her cheek, tucking an errant strand of hair behind her ear, and then hugged her just a little bit tighter.

 

It was some time later when Scully was jolted awake. Something loud had woken her...maybe a falling tree somewhere out in the woods? Sitting up quickly, she gazed with bleary eyes around the tent, but all she could hear was the whistling wind outside...and the light snores of her sleeping partner.

She looked down at Mulder all huddled up in the sleeping bag, with his leg poking out awkwardly at the end. His ankle must be killing him she thought fleetingly, casting an eye over the badly swollen foot. She hated waking him, but she knew they had to set off soon or they stood little chance of making it back to Garden City before darkness fell once again over the lake.

She put a hand on his shoulder and began to shake him gently “Mulder...wake up, Mulder!”

“Mmm...what? Go away I’m sleeping...mmm why is it so cold?” He asked opening one eye to see Scully glaring down at him, with both eyebrows raised.

“Err look around you Mulder...you, me...stuck in the middle of nowhere in the middle of a goddamn blizzard...”

“Oh yeah...that.” He said rising stiffly, rubbing a hand down his sore back.

Scully noticed with concern that he still looked unusually pale, with dark purple rings under his hooded eyes “You okay Mulder? How did you sleep?”

“Not good” he answered simply before adding with a slight grin, “Not as well as you Sleeping Beauty, talk about snoring...I thought I was lying next to a wild boar” “Not to mention the drooling...”

“I DID NOT!” Yelled Scully landing a punch on his right shoulder...

“Oww! Watch it I’m injured” he laughed while massaging his arm.  “You will be....” Scully managed to get out.... just as the tent was filled with a deafening roar followed by the sound of falling branches.

“Jesus Mulder...what the hell was that?!”

“SCULLY GET YOUR GUN... NOW!”  Mulder threw the sleeping bag to the side, frantically searching for his own gun which he had removed from his belt before going to sleep.

 Scrambling to her knees, Scully grasped the gun between her fingers and swung her aim towards the opening of the tent. Her hands shook slightly as another bellowing cry came from outside, but from what direction she couldn’t tell.

“Mulder, I’m going out there”

“Like hell you are... you don’t know the size of that thing.”

“No, it can’t be...it’s got to be a bear or something” She began to inch her way over to the tent flap, before Mulder grabbed her arm. “Scully, don’t go out there without me. I’m telling you that thing... it’s not a bear, or an alligator. I don’t know what the hell it is, but bullets will not stop it... and it will kill you.”

Scully stared at her partners wide eyes pleading with her not to go. She rarely saw Mulder look this afraid and when he did, she knew it was for a damn good reason, so she lowered her weapon and moved back to help him up. As Mulder struggled to get to his knees without knocking his ankle he noticed that the woods had now gone quiet.

As they looked to one another, a silent acknowledgement passed between them as they moved gingerly towards the entrance of the tent...On the count of three...

One, two...three... Scully pulled the zipper down sharply and burst out the tent with her gun aimed high, half expecting to see the creature stood in front of her ready to pounce. But there was nothing.

She swung her gun around towards the cliff path that they had travelled down that night, but again saw only trees and the falling snow.

“I don’t see it Mulder...do you think it’s gone?”

It took great effort but Mulder managed to get to his feet, feeling sore and stiff from lying on the ground for so long. He looked around and also saw nothing...it was definitely gone, but for how long?

 

With the tent packed up and the backpack slung over his shoulders, Mulder wrapped his free arm around Scully’s shoulders as they set off in the direction of the lake. After checking the creature was nowhere in sight, they had searched the area around the tent and had come across large indentations and what looked like tracks in the snow.

Scully eased the pack off her shoulders and bent down to study them more closely.  “These prints Mulder, I’ve never seen anything like this. There’s smaller tracks here that look like they belong to an alligator...see the 5 toes?” Mulder nodded as she then pointed to the tracks in between “But look here, this looks more like the marks left by a snake. A very large snake.”

She looked up at Mulder who was now trying to determine from the tracks, the direction the creature must have travelled, noting with concern that it appeared to be heading towards the lake, the exact same path they were about to take. “Yeah Scully, you got it in one” he answered solemnly.

Scully looked back down to the prints in the snow. It couldn’t be...there are no such things as monsters.

 

Three hours later they had made steady progress down the cliff path, and had now entered a low valley with a large expanse of open ground. Scully had felt uneasy ever since they had left the tent that morning, but now she began to feel a cold fear settling at the pit of her stomach. Against all her better judgement, she could no longer deny that there was something out here in these woods. Something dangerous and predatory.  Something that could drag a fully grown man clean off his feet. She scanned the tree line again, watching for movement.

Just then she felt Mulder stop dead in his tracks, she looked up at his pale face.

“Mulder, what is it?”

“Scully, what’s that?”

“What?!” She said whipping her head round in panic, squinting as the snow began to fall faster again, landing on her hair and eyelashes. Then she saw it.

About 50 or 60 feet away from them was a dark shape lying in the snow. It wasn’t moving, and was partially covered by a layer of snow.  Scully dropped her pack, and stepped away from Mulder, who was stood staring at the shape on the ground, with a look of horror on his face.

Scully walked cautiously towards the thing, only it wasn’t a thing. It was a person. A person with long brunette hair, and pale skin. With a head that was separated about 10 feet away, from what was left of a female body. Scully’s mouth opened in horror and revulsion, as she saw the blood. So much blood, staining the white glistening snow into a deep dark red. And then she looked at the face, and it dawned on her what her partner had already realised the second he saw the dark blue coat, black trousers and mass of brown hair.

They had found the battered and mutilated remains, of Special Agent Diana Fowley.

 

 

 

 

**The story continues soon!**


	4. Chapter 4

Diana Fowley was dead, of that much she was certain. But what had killed her?  
Scully tried to take in the horrific scene that was in front of her, her incisive investigators mind whirring with possibilities and scenarios that would result in a death such as this.

She took a step closer to the body, but instantly regretted the action as Diana's grotesquely disfigured face came into view. Bile quickly rose in her throat as she noticed that one of Diana's eyes was missing from the socket, but the other one was now fixed and glassy. Even in death, she felt like Diana's gaze was piercing, accusing her of something that she couldn't quite put her finger on.

But the blood...there was just so much blood everywhere. She brought a hand up to her face, battling the nausea that suddenly threatened to overcome her as she quietly uttered to herself "Oh my God"  
But then a thought suddenly occurred to her... Mulder. She quickly turned to see her partner kneeling motionless in the snow, with a shocked expression on his pale face. She was at his side in an instant, grasping at his upper arm in a weak attempt to pull him up.  
"Mulder, don't look... Mulder!"

He finally turned his face and looked up at her. His expressive hazel eyes clouded with bewilderment and sadness.  
"Scully this is my fault. I never should have spoken to her the way I did. She ran away because of me."  
She ran a hand through his wet hair, and as it came to rest at the back of his neck she pulled him towards her, leaning down to speak softly in his ear

"Mulder, you couldn't have predicted this..."  
"By this you mean Diana torn to shreds. Its eaten half of her body for God's Sake!" He pulled away from her sharply, and using his good leg managed to regain his balance and stand up. He reached for the rucksack before Scully grasped for his arm once more. She held on even as he attempted to stumble away from her.  
"Mulder stop. Look at me!" When he turned towards her finally, she moved her hand down from his arm to grab hold of his fingers and squeezed them tightly.

"I'm sorry Mulder... I'm so sorry. No matter what I thought of her, she was your friend and she didn't deserve this."  
When all she got in response was a blank stare, she stepped closer and looked him dead in the eye. "Look Mulder, whatever did this to Diana is still out here somewhere. We have to get back to Garden City and report this to the local Sheriff... organise a proper search party to hunt this thing down."  
Mulder looked at her intently, before letting his head drop to his chest. Even through the layers of clothing he was wearing, she could see he was breathing heavily. She gave his hand a further squeeze, then let go to pick up her own rucksack. "Come on, we have to get going. We still have a lot of ground to cover and it'll be dark soon."  
With this he nodded and slung his bag over his shoulder. Wiping the melting snowflakes off his face, he turned back towards the remains of Diana. He stood quietly for a long moment, and Scully knew that in his own way he was saying a final goodbye to his former lover.  
After a further hour of walking through a thick patch of woodland, they emerged onto the top of a hill and from this higher vantage point; they could finally see the lake in the valley below.  
"Not too far now Mulder" encouraged Scully, using the hand that was wrapped around him, to give his back a reassuring rub.  
He looked at her and smiled appreciatively. "Hey Scully?"  
"Hmm"  
"You know you mentioned a search party for this creature..."  
"Yes..." She gave him a sideways glance  
"Does that mean you believe me? You think it was the Bear Lake monster that killed Diana?"  
"Mulder in all honesty, I don't know what I believe anymore" With that she stopped walking for a moment, releasing her hold of his back and made a move to stand before him, with her face tilted up in his direction.  
"And that's not necessarily a bad thing. All I can say is that I trust you, and I trust your judgement. So if you say there's a gigantic man eating snake roaming these woods...then yes, I believe you Mulder."  
A hint of a smile appeared on his face and there was a new glint in his eye...he couldn't resist it. "That is just about the sexiest thing you've ever said to me Scully."  
He watched as a slight blush appeared on her cheeks, and she ducked her head down with the pretence of picking up her bag, but he knew she was only trying to hide the smile that had lit up her pretty face. Ha, he loved it when she got all embarrassed.  
All she said in response was... "Shut up Mulder".  
After this brief interlude, they began the trek down from the hilltop and down into the valley below. Luckily for them, the trail wasn't very steep so they managed to keep to a steady pace, without putting further pressure on Mulder's injured ankle.  
Slowly but surely the lake came into view. The recent snow storm had caused the water in the lake to freeze over, which troubled Scully as she realised there wouldn't be as many tourists out fishing or hiking around the area. If only they could come across someone with a working cell phone...  
Just then, Scully heard a soft thud coming from behind them. It sounded like a tree falling to the ground, but way off in the distance. Maybe it was just some heavy snow falling from a branch or something?  
They carried on walking for a little while, until Mulder stopped and let the backpack he was holding slide down to the snowy ground. Scully was stopped in her tracks, so she let her own bag go as she turned to face him, expressing concern as Mulder bent over and was pulling at the laces of his walking boot ... "Mulder, are you Okay?"  
"Yeah, it's just the laces are too tight. My foot's killing me"  
Scully bent down to inspect the boot which held his injured ankle, "I think it's just the swelling Mulder. Until we get you to a hospital and get your ankle elevated, there's nothing I can do for..."  
WHOOOOMMMPPPFFFHH!  
A loud crashing noise interrupted Scully in mid sentence. It was right behind them this time and it was so loud that it startled all the birds in the trees surrounding them, causing them to take flight at that same instant, crying out in alarm.  
"Mulder what was that!?" Scully leapt to her feet and made a grab for her gun. Her eyes wide with panic as she turned toward the forest, half expecting to be faced with some fearsome creature coming at them at full speed from the trees. Instead there was nothing. The woods were silent again.  
Mulder picked up his bag quietly and stepped forward to put his hand onto Scully's arm "Scully?"  
"Yeah"  
"We have to go. Now"  
She turned her head towards him, reluctant to take her eyes away from the trees. "Mulder, something's here, watching us... I can feel it"  
"I know, Scully come on!" His voice rose at the end to a harsh whisper, his panic more evident to her now which worried her even more. She picked up her bag and together they turned their backs to the trees and began to quickly move away.  
A twig snapped behind them. Scully took a sharp breath inward at the sound, but kept her head down and focussed on the path in front of them, in her mind she was chanting to herself 'keep it moving, gotta keep moving.'  
Suddenly a huge blow came at her from behind with so much force and momentum that it knocked her completely off her feet and threw her into the air. She was pushed up, and then thrown forward landing hard on the snowy ground, knocking all of the air out of her lungs.  
Moments later with her head spinning painfully, she lifted her face away from the snow and attempted to turn, looking for her attacker. All she could see was Mulder lying on his side maybe ten feet away from her. His eyes were closed and there was blood running out from his nose and mouth trickling onto the snow.  
Panic once again seized her heart, as all she could think about then was to get to him. Crawling on all fours she shifted over to where he was lying and gently took his face in her hands turning his head slightly to the side so she could test for a pulse. ...It was there, but just barely. It was then that she noticed the blood at the back of his head. She helplessly gazed down at his face, tears beginning to prick in her eyes as she prayed silently to herself. "Oh God, please let it be a flesh wound." She knew that a serious head injury could be fatal.  
Without knowing how, or why she suddenly got a sense that she was being watched and that they were not alone. She slowly turned her head towards the woods and instantly saw something in the trees, a dark shape that looked like no animal that she had ever seen before. Before her eyes, the shape grew taller as the creature raised its head and then inched its way forward out of the shadows. Scully's mind was reeling at the sight, as she almost couldn't believe what she was seeing. Ironically, Mulder always said to her, that even if Big Foot himself came and bit her on the ass, she'd deny all knowledge of it...Well there was no denying this.  
Mulder. Her heart was beating wildly as she glanced down at her fallen partner and with a shaky hand, brushed a finger across his cheek. Her best friend, her ally and confidant...her one in six billion. This thing had done this to him...and it was the sadness of it all that suddenly struck Scully so hard it was like another blow to the chest.  
He'd travelled over 2000 miles to be here, to maybe take a glimpse into the realm of the fantastic. He'd found what he was looking for, and it was to be that this truth would lead to the end. After all those years of searching, this would be the death of him...and her.  
Reaching for her gun, she took one last look at Mulder as she raised herself to her feet. Lifting the gun in front of her she adopted the defensive stance that had served her well over her years of being a Special Agent of the FBI. Except it wasn't a bad guy, she aimed her gun at this time. It was a monster.  
Out of the blue she felt the fear drain away, and felt her courage return abruptly like a shot of adrenaline seizing her frozen heart. She stepped forward, and raised her chin in defiance "Come on you son of a bitch... COME ON!" She began firing as the creature suddenly rushed forward out of the trees and hurtled towards her at frightening speed. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she just kept on firing, the last bullet leaving the chamber as the creature opened its jaws and slammed into her tiny body. Her last thoughts were of Mulder, as her world turned black.  
To be continued soon...


	5. Chapter 5

Sherriff Peter Chance reached for a cloth that was sitting on the dashboard of his Jeep , and leaned over to wipe the condensation that had formed on his windshield. Outside the car, a storm was raging as he battled with the steering wheel, valiantly attempting to stop the car from skidding off the track. Suddenly hitting a loose rock in the middle of the road, the car bounced upwards only to come crashing back down seconds later. Hearing the old car creaking and groaning in protest made the Sherriff wince, if this thing made it up to Pikes Peak in one piece it would be a goddamn miracle.

"Jeez could you slam us down any harder Chief? My nads are killing me over here!"  
Sherriff Chance glanced in his rear view mirror at the three odd ball characters sitting on the backseat. The whiney one was sat, or should that be squashed in the middle between an old hippy and some dude that did bear an uncanny resemblance to his accountant. It was at times like these when he wished he'd taken the offer of early retirement...  
Frohike was mumbling something under his breath, but then shifted forward in his seat to address the other passenger sitting up front next to the Sherriff. He was Dan Westman, one of the park rangers at Bear Lake.

"Hey, are we any closer to Pikes Peak or what?"  
"I don't think it's much further from here. The inclines pretty steep so we might have to get out and walk soon"  
Oh that's great, thought Frohike as he gazed out of the windows at the blizzard. Why couldn't Mulder choose Barbados to go monster hunting? Or at the very least, somewhere that wasn't in the middle of nowhere and colder than the inside of his freezer.  
It was at this point when the old Jeep hit another rock, sending the car and its passengers lurching off to the side of the trail. Byers was crushed up to the window as Frohike and Langly both slid sideways on their seats, and crashed into him.  
Sherriff Chance wrestled with the steering wheel as he fought hard to regain control of the vehicle, as it wheels began to spin and slide on the slippery ground. After what seemed like an age, they all breathed a collective sigh of relief as he succeeded in pulling the car safely to a stop at the side of the trail.  
"What now Sherriff?" asked Langly as he peered through the frosty windows of the Jeep, and out onto the snowy landscape ahead of them.

"This is when we haul ass out of here, right Dan?" he said turning towards the park ranger, who simply glanced up from the map he was studying. "Hmm yeah, I think we've made enough progress to be able to reach them by foot from here on in."  
"If you don't mind me saying" interjected Byers from the back seat. "You don't sound very confident. Have we any hope of finding them alive out here?"

Dan began to fold up the large map and slipped it into the inside pocket of his coat. He glanced back at Byers who had shifted forward in his seat to get a better look at the terrain. "We can only try our best guys. Me and the Sherriff here will do all we can for your friends. Right Pete?"  
"Darn tootin'. Now come on you bunch of fairies what are we waiting for? We have us some FBI agents to find!'" The Sherriff lifted the fleece collar of his jacket and pulled it up around his ears, reached for the door handle of the Jeep, and pulled himself out into the waiting storm.  
They had been walking for an hour in the biting cold and wind, through fields knee deep in snow, and then through a thick wooded area that was wet and treacherous with thick ice on the ground. Frohike gingerly made his way forward to catch up to Dan who was leading them down the trail, and out onto an open valley.  
"Hay Dan, are there any mountain Lions up here?"  
"Yeah man, there's lions, timber wolves and bears"  
"Oh my!" cried Langly and Byers in unison, laughing as they saw the expression on Frohike's face as he stopped to look at them from over his shoulder. "You guys are fricking weird" he said, provoking another round of laughter from the pair.  
"Seriously guys, can you..." He stopped in his tracks, and then pointed towards the far end of the field in front of them. "What's that?"  
"Hey, I can see something. Dan, look over there!"  
Dan sprang forward and lifted up the small binoculars he was carrying around his neck. He hesitated for a second before grabbing the arm of Sherriff Chance who had come up silently beside him. "Sherriff get your gun"  
The Sherriff looked at Dan and saw the serious expression on his face. He reached for the weapon that was holstered to his waist and flicked off the safety catch. "What is it Dan? Do you see something?"  
The park ranger turned back towards the Gunmen, who had gathered beside the Sherriff eagerly awaiting their orders to move forward and further into the valley below. Dan put his binoculars away and pulled out his own gun, "Guys, I think we've found your friends."  
At first there was nothing, just silence and darkness... and then there was something. A noise, that got progressively louder with each passing second. It was a high pitched whirring sound, and it took her a moment to realise what it was...a siren.  
There were voices in the background, and she could feel the vibrations of movement against what she presumed to be a stretcher. She was in an ambulance.  
The grey haze that surrounded her began to clear somewhat, but when she tried to open her eyes they felt gritty and dry like they were full of sand. Her arms and legs felt heavy and even though she tried, she was unable to lift a hand to her face. Then instead of the haze lifting, she felt like the fog was pulling her down again into the stretcher, down into the deep dark abyss of some strange and foreign land. She felt afraid.  
Suddenly there was a light shining in her eyes, and she blinked hard as the lights felt too bright for her to be able to see at first. She slowly opened them up to reveal a face directly in front of her, which startled her somewhat. But it seemed familiar...small, dark hair...stubble?  
"Mom?"  
*Laughter* "Mom?! Frohike man, she must be tripping on something if she thinks you look like a chick!"  
"Hey shut the hell up, Rainman Barbie. At least I don't look like a retard in a bad wig"  
"You sure about that Ass Clown"  
"Oh yey, it's the three stooges..." said Scully as she put a shaky hand up to her eyes in order to shield them.  
"Hey guys, she's awake!" cried Frohike as he ran back towards the side of her bed, closely followed by Byers and Langly.  
Scully made a weak attempt at lifting herself further up the bed so she could sit up, but Byers gently laid a hand on her arm to try and stop her from doing so. "Scully you're in the hospital, you need to lie down and rest."  
"Rest? Byers, what happened? Why are you guys here?"  
"Scully can you remember what happened to you?"  
"What happened? I don't..." her voice trailed off as she put a hand to her forehead, feeling a bandage taped there. The lone gunmen saw her confused expression turn quickly into one of wide eyed panic.  
"Mulder! Where is he?"  
"Scully, stop he's OK" said Frohike as grasped her shoulder quickly to get her attention. "He's here at the hospital."  
"He's alive?"  
"Yeah, he's alive. But he's pretty banged up Scully." Frohike looked from Scully, to his two companions as if judging how much he should say to her. She saw this exchange and a fresh wave of panic hit her smack in the guts.  
"What did it do to him?" she asked quietly, looking toward Byers for an answer.  
Byers stepped forward and brushed down the blanket on her bed, as he made room to sit beside her.  
"He's not critically injured Scully. He's got a nasty head wound and a few broken bones, but considering the circumstances I think that must be some sort of miracle"  
"By circumstances, you mean the creature that attacked us?" asked Scully who then bowed her head as she laughed to herself quietly, causing the gunmen to all look at her quizzically. She stopped chuckling as quickly as she had started, and looked across at Byers who nodded solemnly as she spoke.  
"I can't believe I'm saying this to you, to anyone for that matter. But the Bear Lake Monster is real, and it did attack us."  
Byers took her hand in his and gave it a squeeze. "We know Scully; we've seen its body."  
It had been three days since their admission to hospital, and Scully finally felt able to visit Mulder's bedside. She quietly entered, and noticed the still figure wrapped up in blankets on the bed at the far side of the room.  
Mulder had a large bandage wrapped around his forehead, and another at the back which looked to be stained with blood. His head was turned away from her as she walked over to his bedside, but she could see his face wasn't marked, and he looked peaceful as if basking in the sunlight that was shining through the windows. She reached down for his hand which was lying on top of the bed sheets and absently began stroking his fingers with her own. She was startled when she heard a sharp intake of breath and he turned towards her suddenly.  
As soon as he laid eyes on her, he relaxed visibly and his face broke out into a huge grin. "Hey you"  
"Hey yourself" she answered, returning his smile with one of her own. They held each other's gaze for a while, neither one of them wanting to break the spell but it was Scully who spoke first.  
"So, how are you feeling?"  
"Like I've done 50 rounds with Evander Holyfield"  
"Who?"  
"The boxer Holyfield...or should that be 50 rounds with Nessy. You know the Loch Ness Monster"  
"Mulder..."  
Mulder sat up in bed, and he touched his forehead with a grimace. His injuries were obviously causing him pain, so she picked up his chart from the end of his bed and began to flip through the pages. "Mulder, what pain medication are they giving you?"  
"Scully, that's not important, I'll be fine. I just want to know what happened."  
With a sigh she put the chart back and just stood at the end of his bed with her arms folded, looking at the floor. He was just about to ask her again when she unfolded her arms and slowly walked back around to the side of his bed. "How much have the Lone Gunmen told you?"  
"Not much really even though I insisted, but they thought it would be better coming from you."  
Scully appeared indecisive again for a moment, but she then reached for the television remote that was lying on top of the bedside cabinet. She flicked on the TV and began to scroll through the channels before stopping at News 24, which appeared to be showing coverage of a forest fire in the local area.  
Confused, he looked from the screen back to his partners face, "Scully, what is it?"  
"Mulder, this fire is at Bear Lake. Pikes Peak to be exact."  
"Pikes Peak, that's where we..." Scully saw the realisation dawning on his face, and she just nodded slowly as he looked back at her for confirmation.  
"This fire wasn't accidental was it?"  
"Mulder, we were attacked up there by...by a creature whose existence is not currently known to science."  
"You mean a monster Scully?" She looked at him sharply and gave him "the eyebrow". "Well I wouldn't say monster as such..."  
He couldn't help but smile then, but carried on regardless. "Scully, it was a monster OK? There's no two ways about it. The government found out somehow and they covered it up. Am I right?"  
She turned off the TV, and turned to look at him "I fired all my bullets at that thing, emptied my entire clip, and somehow by the grace of God the last one found its target and I killed it."  
Mulder reached out for her hand at that moment and gave it a gentle squeeze. Taking this as a sign to continue she then turned to glance up at the TV, "the next thing I know, we're both in the hospital and there's been a massive forest fire at Bear Lake". "For once Mulder I agree with you. There's been an epic cover up."  
Mulder fought back the urge to say "can you say that last part again for me Scully, so I can record it for posterity". He knew now was not the time to be glib, so he simply stroked her hand with his thumb, which got her attention.  
"If I wasn't clear before in that little tent up on Pikes Peak a couple of nights ago, I just wanted to tell you again that I appreciate you coming to get me, even though I acted like a prize asshole."  
Scully smiled at that and added "You'll get no arguments from me Mulder.."  
"Anyway, Scully I..." he was just about to continue, when leant over the bed and placed a finger on his lips to silence him.  
"All I ask, is that you never ditch me again." He smiled and nodded his head, as she removed her finger and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. "Get some rest Mulder." She turned and headed for the door, glancing back at him as she walked out the room with a knowing smile on her face.  
She knew that If he even got the slightest whiff of an X File, of a monster on the loose or a mutant serial killer on the rampage, that guy would be out the door like a shot.  
It was that passion that held her to him, that kept her coming back for more. And if she was brutally honest with herself, it was also why she loved him.  
Frohike, Byers and Langly gathered around a single computer screen, which glowed like a green beacon in the darkened room. Langly was working on the front page of their weekly publication "The Lone Gunmen".  
Amongst the smaller story headlines of "Grandma Sends Text Message From Beyond The Grave" and "Alien Ship Spotted Above Stone Henge", was a large black and white picture of two men with flame throwers, torching what appeared to be the corpse of a huge snake- like creature. The headline read;  
GOVERNMENT COVER UP EXISTANCE OF MONSTER IN UTAH-Creature Kills dozens of people before being gunned down by the FBI.  
"I can't believe you got that shot Langly, its truly awesome" laughed Frohike as he stared at the striking image on the screen. Langly smiled as he hit the print button "The truth is out there dude!"  
The End


End file.
